These boots were made for walking: Blundstone strides off to Asia

THE company's marketing slogan is "Australian for boot", but
they're about to be made in Asia.

Blundstone, the famed Tasmanian bootmaker, is to shift most
production overseas at the cost of about 360 jobs.

The surprise announcement that yesterday rocked the company's
home town, Hobart, was forced by a widening costs gap. "You've just
got a situation where the country can no longer sustain this type
of company," chief executive Steve Gunn said.

He ruled out government aid to keep the private company making
boots in Australia and New Zealand. It will split production
between India and Thailand.

A union says it was assured six months ago that Blundstone was
committed to staying in Australia. "I wear Blundstones myself,"
said Stephen Davies, assistant state secretary of the Textile,
Clothing and Footwear Union. "But once they move overseas I won't
be buying it, I'll look for another. There isn't much choice
though. Boot manufacturing has virtually disappeared."

The shift is expected to leave a skeleton Australian workforce
in sales, customer service and head office by the end of the year.
"The brands live on and the company lives on," Mr Gunn said. He
said labor costs overseas were one-fifteenth to one-twentieth of
local costs.

Blundstone has been a family-owned company since 1870. It
survived in recent years when many others did not by trading on its
local origins to make competitively priced "grunge" footwear that
became fashionable enough for movie stars.

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